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In her recent post in First Things, Dr. Karen Prior offers her perspective on the ways Christians tend to approach entertainment, which amount to either nonparticipation or “mindless consumption”. Going to either extreme, she argues, is nearly equally problematic because either approach can be idolatrous. Mindless consumption idolizes the entertainment, or perhaps even the entertainer; rejection and/or abstention can turn such behavior itself into an idol. For her, the better way to approach contemporary entertainment, and therefore the broader culture that produces it, is through what could be described as discerning delight: a balanced approach that is thoughtful and careful in selecting what is consumed, while also being able to experience true delight in both how and why it is consumed. An approach rooted in true delight is in contrast to what she describes as the “acedia”, or carelessness, that characterizes the viewing habits of far too many people, Christian or not.

It is carelessness that I would like to focus on here. As she clarifies, our un-caring in regard to entertainment can certainly be indiscriminate viewing, but it can also be “busy” viewing. Few Christians would argue for the appropriateness of partaking in any form entertainment regardless of content or purpose, but perhaps not as many would think of “busy” viewing the same way. After all, we are already at a point when just about everyone regardless of age is watching a lot of television, but younger people, especially college-aged young people, have made this the binge-watching generation. And if such a viewing habit is now commonplace (enough that “binge-watching” is an Oxford Online Dictionary term now), it is hard to imagine that there is much of a negative attitude toward it. Yet, nothing lends itself more to careless viewing than binge-watching.

In an article that fits nicely with Dr. Prior’s, writer Jim Pagels argues that binge-watching is counterproductive viewing perhaps most importantly because “episodes have their own integrity” and blurring them all together both diminishes that integrity and can impact the coherence of the story from season to season or even from beginning to end. If we truly want to care for and delight in our entertainment, then one of the best places to start is to treat the art we are viewing respectfully. Of course, part of this is our willingness to “get lost” in the story itself, but we also need to care to understand it, to see the individual parts in respect to the whole, and to do our best to both chew on and digest what we have seen. The one thing that all of this requires is time, and if we only want to devour what is in front of us, we will barely be able to appreciate what it is we are seeing. The analogy to food is apt here: when is binging ever positive in that respect? Also, the better the food, the less likely you are to devour it.

This is why delight is such an important value to highlight and repeat often. It is reminiscent of C.S. Lewis, who, in his work An Experiment in Criticism, talked about the various types of readers that exist. “The majority,” he says, “never read anything twice,” while those who truly care about a work “will read [it] ten, twenty, or thirty times during the course of their life.”** No one throws away a great work; on the contrary, a great work is revisited, with stories that carry us away, and characters that become almost like friends. Granted, even great television is not comparable to great literature, but the principle is still there, especially when you think of the throw-away nature of much entertainment today. Finding and delighting in excellent entertainment can provide both immediate and lasting rewards as long as we are willing to be patient with our viewing, apprehending and savoring both in part and in whole.

Friday, September 9th, was a big day for indie music – it welcomed the release of new albums from some of your favorite “groovy” bands such as The Head and the Heart, Grouplove, Wilco, Bastille and Local Natives. While all of these new albums have something to offer for every music-lover, Local Natives’ album “Sunlit Youth” brings a new voice to a seven-year-old band. This is not just another album for Local Natives – the album is a statement that rings true to many young people.

With themes of endless youth and undeniable cultural change, “Sunlit Youth” expresses a side of Local Natives that mirrors everything that the millennial generation is blamed for – that being mainly entitlement and a false sense of invincibility. Yet, behind the words that express invincibility, there seems to be a slight fear of the typical troubles that come being young.

Local Natives’ most played song on the album is “Fountain of Youth”, which might as well be their anthem. The song contains lyrics that defy the idea of any advice young people have been given in the past. As Taylor Rice, Kelcey Ayer and Ryan Hahn simultaneously sing out “We can do whatever we want / We can say whatever we need”, the feeling is that they strongly believe in these words.

The question becomes then, is this true? Can the youth of our generation actually do whatever we want and say whatever we need? The band goes on to sing “And if we don’t care / Then who cares? / We’ve been dreaming of you / Drinking from fountains of youth”. Is this actually the attitude that we have, and not only this, but is this attitude verifiable? And what kind of consequences come from a lifestyle of carelessness?

When it comes to the rebellion that is displayed in “Fountain of Youth”, it is clear that this is not the only theme that emerges from Sunlit Youth. In “Ellie Alice”, the lyrics “On the other side, will I be reminded? / Pain in youth / Counting up the cards for the time rewinded / Pain in youth” express not only the fear of pain, but also the pain itself that comes with being young. These lyrics, when placed beside the lyrics in Fountain of Youth, are honestly a bit confusing. It is easy to find yourself, as the listener, begging for more clarity from Local Natives as to what “youth” really means to them and how it should be dealt with. Yet, perhaps this actually mirrors our adolescence – it is a difficult time period to define in our lives, and do we truly ever know how to deal with it?

Lyrics and themes aside, this album’s sound delivers something for everyone. The first album on the track, “Villainy”, is the kind of song that you want to shut your eyes and dance to in a slow, “far-out” kind of way. If you don’t understand what I mean by that, give it a listen and I promise that you will understand. The rest of the album follows suit, having hints of a jazzy feel. “Coins” and “Ellie Alice” showcase the slowed-down raw sound that Local Natives is not only capable of, but also excellent at executing.

Local Natives has received a great deal of support for their new album from sites such as NPR music, which describes the album as “perfectly capturing the zeitgeist of 2016 and the embracing of change this year demands”.  So what do you think? Has Local Natives encompassed what youth means for you through their lyrics or have they made you seek clarity on the subject more than ever before?

What would Fall Welcome Week be without a Movie Night? It would still be very good. However, it is hard to argue that a Movie Night does anything other than make Fall Welcome Week better. So please, do not argue with us. Come to the Vines Center on Saturday, August 27 for a double feature of these:

• The Legend of Tarzan – 8:00 p.m.
• The Jungle Book (2016) – 10:00 p.m.

On one hand, it does not seem to be surprising to see more than one critic ask why or how The Legend of Tarzan came to be. Maybe by pointing this out we’re cutting off our own vine in mid-swing, so to speak, but this is our nicer way of pointing out that this movie was not particularly well-reviewed. Besides, how many current moviegoers, especially that coveted 18-39 year old demographic, were clamoring for more of a character that has been represented on movie screens over 50 times since 1918, a few of those occurring since 1998? And as other reviewers have asked, given the current socio-political climate in the US, is this really the time for a reboot of the British colonial, white-guy-as-king-of-the-jungle hero story that is Tarzan? Well, on the other hand, it’s pretty clear that the Tarzan filmmakers were aware of these things, as the cast and certain plot points suggest. The various historical issues of the story are present but primarily serve as a backdrop and catalyst for the action. Samuel L. Jackson as George Washington Williams gets to be both Tarzan and the audience’s guide through it all; his facial expressions are probably the closest thing to what everyone should feel as they watch this movie. This lets Christoph Waltz be his usual, slightly insane bad guy self, Alexander Skarsgard be the almost perfectly physique-d Tarzan, and Margot Robbie the near-perfect Jane. Plus, since no one is coming to this movie for a thorough exposition and denunciation of European colonialist practices circa 1881-1914, it should allow most folks the chance to enjoy Samuel L. Jackson wisecracking and Tarzan swinging on things, fighting some people and some animals, and, of course, saving Jane.

Our second movie for the night is the most recent version of The Jungle Book, which at least critically speaking is the polar opposite of The Legend of Tarzan. One of the best reviewed movies of 2016 (so far), The Jungle Book is a CGI marvel and an absolute load of fun to watch. Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising at this point, but it is amazing to hear how some actors are almost able to voice their own persona into an animated character, and this is particularly true for those in The Jungle Book: Bill Murray (Baloo), Scarlett Johansson (Kaa), Idris Elba (Shere Khan), Christopher Walken (King Louie), and Ben Kingsley (Bagheera). The seamless blend between live action and animation is largely the result of an excellent performance from new actor Neel Sethi as Mowgli. It’s an outstanding blend of nostalgia and novelty, and you should come see it whether you’ve seen it already or not.

As usual, we will provide free popcorn and lots of inexpensive junk food and drinks for your snacking pleasure. Enjoy the show!

Student Activities presents Vertical Church Band and worship from Elevation Church in the LaHaye Event Space on Friday, September 23 starting at 8 p.m. It will be a night of worship with bands from two of the most influential churches in the country today, and if you’re a student all you have to do is pay $10 in advance to be there. Tickets for the general public are just $12 in advance, and tickets for everyone will be $15 at the door. This is a standing room only show, so please plan accordingly.

Formed in 2012, Vertical Church Band is the product of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago, IL. If you take a quick glance at the videos on their website, most of them feature the band as it will likely appear at the concert here at Liberty on Sept. 23 – Andi Rozier, Jon Guerra, Kyle Fredricks, Meredith Andrews, Lauren Smith, Tara Stutes, and Gabe Finochio, among others. Several of the videos feature other members of the worship team, which is to Vertical Church’s credit, and very much consistent with the band description that opens the website. The emphasis is not so much on “church” or even “band” in their name; the emphasis is on the nature of worship as “vertical”, about the condition and position of the worshiper in relationship to God. But it certainly doesn’t hurt them to have two signed artists as major performers in the group. One of them, Jon Guerra, performed as JAGUERRA for a time and now shares a stage at times with his wife, Valerie. The other is Liberty’s own Meredith Andrews, who is now producing top-level CCM music with Vertical Church on top of her already impressive solo material. All together, the group is now four albums into a solid career, much of their material consisting of live recordings, but all of it contributing to and elevating the worship genre “industry standard”. Where they truly raise the bar is in the aforementioned quality of performer. Whether it’s Meredith or Kyle or Gabe fronting the song, Vertical Church is equally at home in nearly any song. And that’s their other strength: the quality is consistent through the quantity. This is one of the reasons they are able to create the atmosphere they do; you could say that the horizontal aspect of the band in terms of stage presence is what contributes most to the vertical. It is a collective effort, all members working together to help minimize focus on any one person in the group for the greater purpose of pointing the audience upwards.

Student Activities is happy to present another opportunity for you to watch a movie outside. Come to our next Outdoor Movie Night for a very special presentation of Finding Dory. Just bring a blanket or other sitting device to the fields outside Dorm 28 on Saturday, September 10 at 10:30 p.m., sit back, relax, and enjoy.

How many popular movies with a sequel-ready story wait 13 years, 18 days to make one? Answer: not many. Yet that was exactly the path Disney, and eventually Pixar, chose with Finding Dory. The list of movies with delayed sequels is long, but not many are as critically acclaimed or popularly beloved as Finding Nemo. Of the massively popular franchises, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Mad Max are a few that have gaps between a sequel greater than that between Nemo and Dory. But whether the sequels are two or twenty years apart, the challenge for the movie maker remains the same: How can you create a movie that builds on an existing story without it being, as Dory director Andrew Stanton said, “derivative or redundant”?

Finding Dory accomplishes this with ease, shifting the focus to Dory, keeping Nemo, Marlin, and other old characters close without being show stealers, and introducing new characters that contribute far more than they distract. As other reviewers have discussed, both Dory and Nemo must overcome their limitations (Nemo’s malformed fin and Dory’s short-term memory loss), but Dory’s story is far more about the effects of life with a disability than Nemo’s. This is why both the character interaction and setting of Dory is such a perfect fit for the story. In Finding Nemo, much of the action takes place in the vastness of the ocean in all its mystery and danger, concentrating as much on Marlin’s journey as anything else. By contrast, Dory spends much of the time on screen in various confines – a bucket, a coffee pot, a touch pool, and, in one of the most important scenes in the movie, a series of pipes – a bit more chaotic and rapid-fire than the action of Nemo. All of these settings mirror Dory’s mental struggles perfectly as she tries to remember her way back to her parents: her mind flashes from present to past, her physical location shifts in similarly sporadic fashion.

The beauty of the story is in the proximity of her support. The Dory we are introduced to shows personality and manner that appear to just go with the flow, seemingly carefree and moving with ease between people and peril, which in a different context could seem like pure independence (more like the turtle, Crush). But we know this is not the case: the danger around her is real, and she has great need for the support of friends and family. In one sense, everyone she encounters can be a new friend, even if they are a soon-to-be-remembered old friend. But new or old, her friends are always close by, sometimes playing catch up, sometimes speaking to her from a distance, but they are never far away, regardless of how far away she thinks they are. Finding Dory is a bit sillier than its predecessor, but in that sense it is a great accomplishment, maintaining the fun while still treating disabilities with great sympathy and respect.

Believe it or not, the 2016-17 school year is upon us, which means that the Student Activities Block Party is just around the corner. Meet us in the LaHaye parking lot on Saturday, September 3 starting at 5 p.m. for the best annual “welcome back” event that Liberty University has to offer! For those of you who have never experienced Block Party, this is what you can expect to see:

• A full parking lot of carnival-style rides and games, including the always popular Ferris wheel
• A wide variety of local food vendors and food trucks
• Many of the university’s departments and student-led clubs, ready to provide you with all the information you could possibly want
• Music performances by Colony House, singer-songwriter Dave Barnes, and local favorites Vacation Manor
• A fireworks show at the conclusion of the Colony House performance

Colony House will be visiting us for the second time, having performed here previously last April in the LaHaye Event Space. Their first album When I Was Younger is excellent, and as we heard first hand during their performance here, demonstrates how capable band members Caleb & Will Chapman, Scott Mills, and Parke Avery are in terms of musicianship and quality songwriting. This is why we are very excited to host them only a couple weeks before the release of their upcoming album Only the Lonely, available on September 16. You can check out the tracks “You & I” and “You Know It” on your favorite streaming service today, and you can definitely check them out for yourself when they play here on Sept. 3.

Dave Barnes is no stranger to Liberty University either, having performed here several times (including Block Party in 2011). Unlike that Block Party, this time we don’t expect there to be a hurricane just east of us. But just like that Block Party, we expect Dave to be just as endearing and melodic as ever. You will surely hear your favorites from his extensive catalog, but we are excited to see how his most recent, Eagles-inspired release “Carry On, San Vincente” sounds on a summer night in September. It should be a perfect setting for his laid back sound.

And of course, we love to support local talent, so we are thrilled to be able to add Vacation Manor to the show this year. Be sure to check out their debut EP “Girl, Say” as soon as you can.

While you enjoy everything we have to offer, take plenty of pictures and tag all of your posts with #SAblockparty. There will be tons of prizes and giveaways throughout the day, so be sure to get there early and plan to stay late!

With NEEDTOBREATHE visiting us this fall (November 12th, see you there!), it’s important to take a few minutes to go over some highlights of their new album: Hard Love.

If you listened to Rivers in the Wasteland, NEEDTOBREATHE’s album prior to H A R D L O V E, you know that the album is pretty emotionally weighty. Songs such as “Difference Maker” and “Wasteland” show the heart behind the album, one that was joyful and lively, yet also full of real life lessons and deep thoughts.

H A R D L O V E follows suit, showing sides of positivity as well as thought-provoking songs. The album begins with an electronic/R&B feel in MOUNTAIN, Pt 1, which sets the tone for the upbeat pop vibe of the album (carried along by songs such as “Hard Love” and “When I Sing”). Along with the upbeat songs there are a few that are slowed down and a bit more reflective, such as “No Excuses” and “Be Here Long”.

NEEDTOBREATHE never fails at giving everyone what they want. Those who are romantics and want to hear a little bit more of a “lovey-dovey” song, put on “Let’s Stay Home Tonight” and you won’t be disappointed. When it comes to a more worship-style song, “Testify” is just that.

NEEDTOBREATHE’s sound is relatable to all. Leon of “The Musical Melting Pot” describes it well when he writes, “H A R D L O V E is a gamble, ambitious in scope and utterly immersive in its execution. This music would sound out of place in small venues, if the walls of such venues were capable of bearing its onslaught in the first place. On this album, NEEDTOBREATHE are an unstoppable sonic force.”

This album is one that deserves your listen, and if you like what you hear, grab your tickets to see them live at Liberty University on November 12!

June 24, 2016 marks a day that sparked a bit of a controversy in the Contemporary Christian Music (or CCM) realm – it was the day that Kings Kaleidoscope’s album “Beyond Control” was released, and also the day the word “explicit” appeared on a CCM album.

Hailing from Seattle, Washington, Kings Kaleidoscope claims their style as “an alternative rock hybrid band”. If you’ve listened to Kings Kaleidoscope in the past, you remember that the band is known for their reworking of hymns such as “Come Thou Fount” and “In Christ Alone”. They also have three albums besides “Beyond Control”, the first being released in 2011, and an EP called “Live in Focus” which came out in 2015.

“Beyond Control” is comprised of 13 songs, ranging from a jazzy opening entitled “A Resting Place (Intro)” to more of an alternative rock feel in “Enchanted”. Each song is obviously one to be sang to God, crying out words such as “Break me free to live enchanted!” and “Pray I find my peace, pray I slay the dragon”. Therefore, it obviously comes as a surprise to see the word “explicit” next to a song on the album, especially when the song is entitled “A Prayer”. Perhaps lead singer/songwriter Chad Gardner didn’t realize the implications of this bold word being on his album. Then again, maybe he did.

Amidst the controversy of “A Prayer”, Gardner sticks to his guns. In an interview on “Reel Gospel”, the lead singer states, “It barely feels like I wrote the song. One afternoon I was listening to the first part of that song and all the lyrics just appeared in this app I use on my phone to write lyrics. I bawled my eyes out, just feeling the Holy Spirit’s presence, just writing them down. Just thinking them. Once again, I even had to wait longer to record it, it was so heavy on me. The next day I was able to sing it through, twice. And I lost it both times singing it… It is the deepest fear of my soul and the deepest truth of my soul. That’s how it got written.”

This was definitely a risky move on Gardner’s part (and the whole band, for that matter). The use of one word on this album has the potential to push a lot of listeners away, yet this ultimatum didn’t scare Gardner away. When asked about the vision behind the song by Spirit You All, Gardner stated “I’d say, I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind about it or convince anyone of anything. I’m just trying to be honest and vulnerable. I think that’s important in art, and important as a Christian. If there’s any place that I can share my story and my testimony for what it really is, it should be the church at large. And that’s what I’m doing.”

So what does this mean for Christian music? Because of this being a relatively new development, it’s hard to tell right now what will be said about this situation or if much will be said at all. Kings Kaleidoscope doesn’t really fit the mold of the typical CCM band – they’re not exactly at the top of Christian radio’s Most Played list. Therefore, in the Christian realm, how much does this really matter?

To some, it really matters. The band tweeted on July 21st “Friends, @CreationFest has decided to no longer have us this year, hopefully we’ll get to sing these gospel songs another time…” Creation Festival, the largest Christian music festival in the nation, chose to uninvite Kings Kaleidoscope after “Beyond Control” was released. While they do not cite the profanity in “A Prayer” as their reasoning, it is assumed that this was the cause of the un-vitation. This situation shows that “A Prayer” is definitely causing some controversy, but as of now it’s hard to tell how much of a stir this is going to make in the CCM pot.

But if there is one thing that is going to stir the CCM pot, it should be the sound of “Beyond Control”. This album is charged with all sorts of different “feels” – electronic, rock, alternative, and just about everything that will make you take your Beats off, hand them to anyone around and say “Listen up!”. Kings Kaleidoscope makes the type of music that must be shared – they aren’t afraid to stand out, and this album is a perfect example of the risks they are willing to take. Timothy Yap of Hallels encapsulates the band’s music seamlessly by writing, “Kings Kaleidoscope can’t be explained. It can be heard. It can be felt. It can point us towards home.”

Finding Nemo: the beloved fish tale that left heart strings all over the world being tugged when it premiered in 2003. With a high volume of emotional twists and learned life lessons, Nemo is a motion picture that sticks with its viewers far beyond their initial movie experience. Out of all the occurrences and characters that made Finding Nemo important, there is one fish that stuck out to all: Dory, the fun, spunky blue tang. And this is why the fish now has her own movie: Finding Dory, released June 17.

Although Finding Dory is the sequential movie to Nemo, it did not seem to be a sequel at all – instead, the attention was taken off of Nemo and Marlin and focused on Dory and her past. Because of this shift in character attention, the films felt separate, illuminating each for its strengths. While Nemo focused more on a father’s love for and protection over his son, Dory focuses more on overcoming obstacles and facing her infamous short-term memory loss head on in order to find out more about herself and where she came from. Instead of allowing Dory’s memory issue to make her feel alienated, Dory’s parents and friends work with her in order for her to live her life as “normally” as possible. Alissa Wilkinson from Christianity Today writes, “Dory’s short-term memory loss isn’t the result of an accident: it’s just something she’s born with, and something her parents need to help her live with, while figuring out how to avoid being overprotective.”

Tasha Robinson from The Verge seems to pinpoint the overarching theme of the film in her Dory review when she states, “disabilities aren’t the same as limitations.” Dory’s parents and friends will work with her as much as they need to in order for her to feel safe and cared for despite any challenge she may face. An example of this lies in the fact that Dory’s parents do not chase her when she leaves, but instead leave a trail for her to find her own way back home despite her memory struggles. Her parents trust her intuition enough to allow her to survive on her own although they wish so badly that they could take care of her.

When it comes to the plot as a whole, the movie is a bit predictable in a Pixar/Disney “everything will work out” sort of way. Yet, having this in the back of your mind does not mean that there is not excitement happening through the journey of Finding Dory. In the case of this movie, the means to the end is exciting even if the end is already foreseen.

Finding Dory is not “better” than Finding Nemo, but it does a great job of being everything it needs to be: adventure-packed, fun-filled, and gently instructing to all ages. Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood writes that Finding Dory is “a sequel that proved you don’t have to stint on quality”, while A. O. Scott from New York Times writes, “certainly the best non-Toy Story sequel the studio has produced.”

After seeing that Liberty University’s Instagram account posted a photo about our campus having plenty of room to catch Pokémon (and the 2,300+ likes on the photo), it is impossible to ignore the impact this game has taken as of late. And our 7,000-acre campus isn’t the only place booming with the excitement of little virtual creatures; in just a couple weeks, Pokémon Go has made an impact on places and people all over the world. Like every global trend, there are many advocates as well as nay-sayers, and this game has no lack on either side. In order to make a fully developed opinion on the game and what it means to indulge in playing it, it is important to look at both sides, taking into consideration everything Pokémon Go has created over the past week or so.

When it comes to the downsides of the game, you may have heard about the armed robbery in Missouri last week, where “Armed robbers used the game Pokémon Go to lure victims to an isolated trap.” You may also know about the complaints from places such as the Holocaust Museum, Arlington Cemetery, and Ground Zero due to the lack of respect the game represents on their honorable grounds. And these are factors that cannot be argued with – these instances and situations are uncalculated misuses of the game.

Yet, there is some good coming from the game as well. Vox recently published an article titled “Pokémon Go May be the Greatest Unintentional Health Fad Ever”. Whether or not this statement is true, there is undoubtedly an increase in exercise from our fellow Pokemon-playing US citizens over the past couple of weeks. Vox’s article includes tweets stating “Co-worker walked 7 miles on Saturday to catch Pokémon” and “Just walked at least 8km in the past 3 hours”. The game is definitely getting people on their feet, which is inarguably a positive feature.

So what can we conclude? With the facts in front of us (whether positive or negative), perhaps the best way to use the game is just like with anything else – in moderation. Whether the Pokémon creatures become your friends (that you can have a good time with but are also okay being away from for a little while) or your ultimate foes (that become your only focus) is really up to you.

Aside from whether or not it is beneficial to people, there is no argument that the game is ingenious – it combines nostalgia and our modern-day detachable devices, creating the perfect mixture for excitement and worldwide buzz. And in our society of needing to be ahead of everyone else, it promotes the kind of competitiveness that is causing people to go outside much more than they may have before. Therefore, there isn’t really an objective answer to the question: Is this a “good” game or not? The answer is different for everyone, and if the game is being used simply as a game and it isn’t taking over your life, then hey, go for it!

Yet, the question that remains is: Is it possible to play the game without it taking over your life?